Book filing cabinet



March 15,1932. T. T. HAAG BOOK FILING CABINET.

Filed Jupe 18, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 7. ffaa g March 15, 1932. T. T. HAAG BOOK FILING CABINET Filed June 18. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 1 v u m n 1 K3 3.

INVENTOR. 7714mm Z Haa g" BY 1 v ATTORNEYS. 7/0gue& A61

March 15, 1932. T. T. HAAG BOOK FILING CABINET Filed June 18. 192.9 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Q? flajuefl Vfiarg/ Theodozg f ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 15, 1932 PATENT OFFICE rnnononn T. EAAG, or'none ISLAND crrY, NEW YORK BOOK FILING CABINET Application fiIed'J'une 18, 1929. Serial No. 371,894.

This invention relates in general to filing cabinets and more particularly to those having compartments fitted with sliding shelves provided with downwardly folding front sec- Anobject of the invention is to provide certain improvements in filing cabinets em- J bodying an arrangement of shelves which will insure a convenient means of filing and f'indexing the'contents of a cabinet ofthe desired capacity, or a cabinet limited only by thesize of the available space; A further object is to provide meanslfor protecting the shelves in their respective compartments being positively limited at a point when the front section drops; to, provide the shelf front sections with exterior and'interior in dices; and to so arrange the front sections so that all of indices ofthe closed shelves are visible regardless of the opened shelves.

With the foregoing, and other objects in View, the invention consists in the combinationof parts and in the details of construction hereinafter set forth, certain embodiments thereof being illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective partly in sec- W tion of adouble cabinet, each sectionbein inclinedtoward the top.

Fig.2 is longitudinalsection through two vertically adjacent compartments with contents, one shelf being in open position and the one below beingclose'd. I

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective of' a corner of a frontsection of one of the shelves. Fig. 4; is a view in perspective ofa shelf removed from the cabinet and with the front 66 section folded 1 downwardly.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of line. 5 5, Fig. 2.

the contents are removed from a compart ment.

Fig. 7is;a longitudinal section through one of the compartments showing a modified form of shelf. V

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a shelf partly broken away to show its construction.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view'at line 9-9-0f Fig. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings the cabinet as shown in Fig. 1 maybe in the form of a double cabinet with sections A and B inclined upwardly and rearwardly for the purpose of facilitating the replacement of the shelves in closed position and also to gain greater visibility of the indices. Each liber or other file content l is provided with a flat shelf 2 which may be of sheet steel or other suitable material, perforated or not as desired, longitudinally slidable in an opening inthe cabinet on a partition 7, which shelf has 'adownwardly extending flange 15 at the front edge and an upwardly extending flange 8 at the rear edge for purposes of reinforcement and to aid-in maintaining a perfectly fiat condition of the shelf. At the same time the downwardly extending flange 15 presents a smooth front surfacewhich is unlikely to engage the edges of the liber while placing it upon the shelf. The upwardly extending flange 8 at the rear of the shelf also provides a stop for the liber. The depth of the shelf is such that-when the liber is against the rear stop'8 as shown in Fig. 2 the liber extends beyond the front edge of the shelf'a distance sufficient to permit it to be grasped with facility. The head plate or front section 3 is suitably hinged to the shelf at 4 so as to drop automatically as soon as the hinge is clear of the front edge of the compartment. 7 When the head plate is in its open position, as shown in Fig. 2, the liber extending beyond the edge of the shelf is readily grasped by the two hands without interference from-any part of the cabinet either above, below, or on the-sidesof the liber. A downwardly depending flange 5 on the under face of the shelf 2 is adapted to abut an upwardly and inwardly extending flange 6 on the front edge of the partition 7 (Fig. 7). The flange 5 comes to a stop against the flange 6 simultaneously with the completion of the drop of the head plate 3, so as to prevent inadvertent further movement of the drawer.

In order to identify the liber with its respective opening a label holder 9 is provided on the outer face of the head plate 3 and a duplicate label placed in the holder 9 on the inner face of the head plate so as to be readily visible when the shelf is opened and the head plate downwardly swung.

It is proposed to file the liber with the bottom edge toward the front instead of the conventional method of placing the binding side toward the front, thus providing for economy in wall space, and also a further advantage is obtained in that when the liber is withdrawn by both hands by the bottom edge, the liber is in the desired position in the hands for reading and the extra time involved in turning the liber is eliminated. The inner and outer labels in the drop head label holders 9 and 9 render referenceto the binding side unnecessary. Further, each shelf front may be provided with a transparent window such as shown at 17 in Fig. 4 for determining the presence or absence of a liber within the compartment without moving the shelf.

The head plate 3 is formed of a single front face and side walls 13. These side walls may have, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4:, a reinforcing member 22 with a flat lateral flange 14:. The space between the flanges 14: is open for the purpose of ready vision of the label of the shelf below when the former is opened. For the purpose of reinforcement and to provide bearing surfaces the shelf is provided with side flanges 10 which are bent under and inwardly at 10, the shelf being thus adapted to slide on its bearing surface 10 on a correspondingly upwardly inturned flangebearing surface 20 at the sides of the partition 7. The downturned flange 15 with notches 16 being provided for between the flange 15 and the side flanges 10 allows the extension 18, of the member 22, to swing about a pivot connection 4t to the shelf, to fit the notch and contact with the shelf proper so as to bring the head horizontally aligned with the shelf and the compartment into which it fits when the shelf is closed.

There is provided a smooth flat surface with no projections extending into the defined space for receiving the liber, this space being defined on each side by the smooth side walls 21 formed by the vertical partitions of the cabinet. Moreover the upper wall is defined by the flat under surface of each lateral partition 7, and the lower wall of the liber space is defined by the upper smooth surface of the shelf. All projections which might interfere with the placement or withdrawal of the liber, are thus avoided. This insures the entire head plate fitting exactly within the prescribed opening, and at the same time provides for easy control of the head plate in closing the shelf assembly within the cabinet.

In this connection it will be seen that the closing of the shelf 'may be accomplished simultaneously with the depositing therein of the liber by giving the latter a slight forward thrust and removing the hands preceding the closing of the shelf front. In this manner the liber strikes the rear upward flange 8 of the shelf causing the shelf to move and to also swing the hinged head section into horizontal position and carry the shelf assembly into closed position. This makes for a great saving of time in filing in that no extra time is taken in the actual manual operation of the head after placing the liber thereon.

The head plate is limited in its downward movement to such an extent that it will not strike the adjacent lower head plate. This may be accomplished by providing suitable bumpers 12 on the outer face of the partition 7 to be struck by the edges or flanges 1 1 on the hinged head section so that the latter in its downward motion never assumes a true vertical position and thus never contacts with the adjacent head plate therebeneath. The bumpers 12 also extend slightly above the upper surface of the partition 7 in such a m'an ner as to form a bearing for the flanges 14 of the head section in the sliding of the shelf. The entire'sliding shelf assembly is limited in its closing movement by the flange 8 striking the rear wall 11 of the cabinet.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 7' and 8 the stop at the rear of the shelf is offset providing a space between it and the shelf to accommodate a shelf covering 23. This covering, which may be of any suitable fabric, encircles the shelf from front to rear, and is in the nature of a traveling belt. Upon inserting or withdrawing a liber from a compartment, the fabric or belt slides along the shelf thus eliminating any wear on the book due to friction. Also as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, when the head plate is in its open position the shelf extends a suflicient distance forward of the cabinet to facilitate registering the liber with its proper compartment upon replacing.

The front and rear edges of the shelf are rounded as shown at 15 in order to reduce the wear upon the fabric and facilitate its sliding upon the shelf.

While I have described the shelves as being adapted for sliding movement, it is not desired to limit my invention to this effect as the construction may be easily adapted to move on rollers or have movement by other mechanical expedients of which I am well aware.

I claim: I

1. In a filing cabinet, a plurality of compartments in each of which is arranged a movable shelf having a hinged head, said head being positively limited in its upward movement to the horizontal and in its downward movement to a point preceding the vertical by means also constituting a bearing surface for said shelf in its sliding movement, means for positively limiting the movement of said shelf effective simultaneously with the completion of the dropping of said hinged head incidental to said sliding movement, said hinged head being provided with inner and outer holders for duplicate labels, said hinged head being also provided with an opening in place of a bottom, the outer label of an adjacent underneath closed hinged head being thus simultaneously visible with the inner label of the upper hinged head.

2. In a filing cabinet, a plurality of compartments each provided with a movable shelf having a hinged head, means for limiting the forward movement of said shelf simultaneously with the completion of the downward swing of said head, runners in the form of integral flanges formed on the bottom edges of said shelf and hinged head means on the face of the partition between each compartment of said cabinet for limiting the downward swing of said head at a point previous to the vertical, and means for limiting the upward manual swing of said head at a point removed but coinciding in plane with that of the corresponding compartment.

3. In a filing cabinet, a plurality of compartments each provided with a movable shelf having a hinged head, each of said hinged heads having an inner and outer holder adapted to retain duplicate labels, said hinged head being provided with an opening in place of a bottom so that one of the labels of each shelf is visible regardless of the relation of shelves which may be open and others which may be closed.

l. In a filing cabinet, a plurality of independent movabl-e shelves having hinged heads, means for limiting the forward and rearward movements of said shelves, and means for limitingthe swinging movements of said hinged heads, each of said hinged heads having an inner and outer holder adapted to retain duplicate labels, said hinged head being provided with an opening in place of a bottom so that one of the labels of each shelf is visible regardless of the relation of shelves which may be open and others which may be closed.

5. In a filing cabinet, a plurality of compartments each provided with a movable shelf having a hinged head, meansfor limiting the forward movement of said shelf simulta- V neously with the completion of the downward swing of said head, means for limiting the downward swing of said head at a point previous to the vertical, and means for limiting the upward manual swing of said head at a point removed but coinciding in plane with that of the corresponding compartment, each of said hinged heads having an inner and outer holder adapted to retain duplicate labels, said hinged head being provided with an opening in place of a bottom so that one 7 of the labels of each shelf is visible regardless of the relation of shelves which may be open and others which may be closed.

6. In a filing cabinet, a compartment having a depth sufficient to accommodate a liber or the like, a shelf therein, means encircling the shelf and slidable with respect thereto upon which said liber is placed, said means moving in unison with said liber as the latter is moved with reference to said shelf.

7. In a filing cabinet, a compartment having a depth sufli-cient to accommodate a liber or the like, a shelf therein, means encircling said shelf and movable with respect thereto with the liber placed thereon, a closing head for said compartment having a hinged con nection with said shelf, said hinged connection being so positioned that said shelf extends a suflicientdistance beyond the forward end of said compartment to permit registry of the liber therewith when said closing head is in its opened position.

8. In a filing cabinet, a compartment having a slidable shelf therein for accommodating a liber or the like, a closing head for said compartment hinged to said shelf at such a point that the hinge forces the front edge of said shelf past the front face of said cabinet,

the hinge of said head also being adapted to engage the under surface of said shelf so as to limit the upward movement of said head to a point in the same plane with the remainder of said shelf.

9. In a filing cabinet, a compartment having a slidable shelf therein for accommodating a liber or the like, a closing head for said compartment hinged to said shelf at such a point that the hinge forces the front edge of said shelf past the front face of said cabinet, the hinge of said head also being adapted to engage the under surface of said shelf so as to limit the upward movement of said head to a point in the same plane with the remainder of said shelf, said shelf also having a downwardly extending rolled flange on the front edge thereof for the purpose of presenting a smooth unobstructed surface for the deposit of a liber.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my nameto this specification this 17th day of 

